Nonreverse mechanism for rotary pumps



Cet. 14, 1930.

R. M. SCHLEGEL ET AL NONREVERSE MECHANISM FOR ROTARY PUMPS Filed April26, 1927 llgup n Patented Oct. 14, 1930 l YUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICERONALD M. SCHLEGEL AND ALFRED. H. BOWLZEE, JB., OFl LOS ANGELES,CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO KIMBALL-KROG-H PUMPCOMPANY,` A COB- PORATION OF DELAWARE NONREVERSE MECHANISM FOR ROTARYPUMPS Application led April 26,

Our invention relates to deep-well rotary pumps, and relatesparticularly to a pump head embodied in such construction.

A common type of deep-well rotary pump consists of a pump section whichis located near the lower end of a well. Attached to the pump sectionand extending upward therefrom is a column pipe which extends to thesurface of the ground where a pump head is located. Passing upward fromthe pump section into the pump head is a shaft, by means of whichimpellers of the pump section and the column pipe are rotated. Some pumpheads for rotary pumps are of the direct-connected type in which themotor is positioned directly above the pump head and is attacheddirectly to the shaft, by meansy of which the impellers are rotated,while other pump heads are driven by gear or belt mechanisms. Thesebelts are driven by means of motors placed a short distance from thepump heads, these motors in some instances being electric motors and inother instances being internal combustion engines. I/Vhen a pump is shutdown after a period 4of operation, the column pipe is full of water andthis water gravitates back to the lower end of the .well, and in sodoing rotates the pump in a reverse direction. In some types of pumps itis found j that the water in passing downward through the column piperotates the pump in a reverse direction three or four times its normalspeed. In the direct-connected pump heads it sometimes occurs thatthe-'motor is wired wrong so that when it is supplied with electricityit will drive the pump in the wrong direction. This is quite detrimentalto the pump. In the first place,it tends to unscrew the parts of thepump shaft which, if this occurs, necessitates pulling of the. pump fromthe well. Sometimes the unscrewing of the shaft and couplings cause theupper end thereof to move the rotor through the upper shell of themotor. In the case of a. direct-connected pump, the water iowingdownward to the lower end of the well and driving the pump at a highrate of speed tends to throw the bars out of the rotor; and in the caseof a belt-driven pump will run the belt olf the pulley, causing' damageto it.

1927. Serial N0. 186,687.

It is an object of this invention to provide a nonreversing attachmentfor a pump head which prevents the pump from being operated in a reversedirection. v

A further object of the invention is to provide a nonreversingattachment which applies a brake when the pump tends to rotate in thewrong direction.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be made manifest inthe following description.

The invention may be best understood by reference to the drawing inwhich:

Fig. l is a vertical section through a pump head embodying the featuresof this invention. In Fig. l the parts are shown in the position inwhich they rest when the rotating part thereof is being rotated in aforward or proper direction.

Fig. 2 is a. fragmentary View of the pump head showing the position ofthe parts when the rotating part tends to rotate in a reverse orbackward direction.

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3--3of Fig. l.

Fig. 4; is a fragmentary view illustrating an alternative form of theinvention.

In the drawing and particularly Figs. l to 3 inclusive, the numeral 1lrepresents a pump head body which ordinarily rests at the surface of theground and has the upper end of a column pipe l2 joined thereto. Incommunication with the interior of the column pipe 12 is a wat-erchamber 13, and connected to the pump head body 11 is a discharge pipele which is in communication with the chamber 13. Extended upward fromthe pump section (not shown) which is at the bottom of the well, is apump shaft l5. This pump shaft projects through a stufling box I6 andhas an adjustment nut 17 screwed on the upper end thereof. Surroundingthe upper end of the pump shaft l5 below the adjustment nut 17 is aspindle I8. This spindle 18 is rotatably supported by a radial bearing19 and a thrust bearing 20, which bearings are supported in a bearingchamber 2l provided by a bearing housing 22. The bearing housing 22 issupported by an upper face of the body l1. The spinf in the drawing isdriven by arpulley 28 over rfi which a belt (not shown) is passed. Itshould be'understood that in place of the pulley23a direct-connecteddrive arrangement may be provided by supporting an electric motor abovethe upper end of the pump Y shaft 15 and connecting it thereto by means'of-"a suitabley connection.

'fl`he upper end of the spindle 18 which `projects upward from thebearing chamber 21 is cylindrical as indicated at 26. VSupported at thispointfby'the cylindrical part 26 of the spindle is a floating brakemember 27. The brake member 27 surrounds the cylindr-icalpart of thespindle having a cylin- `dric'al hub 28 from the lower end of which .anannular flange 29 is extended. A lower face of the flange 29 is providedwith 'a lining 30 which may be ordinary brake lining. ,The upper partvof the bearing housing 22 is ,provided with a stationary member 32 whichprovides an upper flat lface which restsfin a plane parallel to theplane of the llange 29. -.-.The hub portion 28 of the brake member 27 isprovided with cam grooves 35. These cam grooves extend in oblique planeswith respect to ka horizontal plane. vThe cam grooves 35 are formed onopposite sidesof lthe hub- 28 and looking from the inner side.

are in crossing relation. .Extending from the. cylindrical portion 26 ofthe spindle `18 are pins 36 which are preferably on the same diametricallin-e. These pins 36 project into f thecam grooves 35. When the pumpshaft' 15 and the parts connected therewith'are rotati-ng in a forwarddirection, as `indicated by .an arrow 38 of Fig..:1, there is upon theinitial movement of these parts a relative rotation between them andthebrake member 27. yThis relative movement causes the pins 36 to move intothe lower ends of the ca m grooves 35. It is, of course, impossible forthe pump shaft and spindle to move downward because of the bearings bywhich they are supported, so by necessity the brake member 27 movesupward. It is shown in its ,upper position in Fig. 1. It will be seenvthat at this time the brake member is en-' tirely disengaged from thestationary member or plate 32; therefore, there will be no vinterferenceto the rotation of the rotatable parts.

4.0/ will be urged ltoward a single horizontal plane. This places atwisting action on the brake member which causes it to frictionally gripthe cylindrical portion 26 of the spindle 18 and tolockit in a certainposition on the cylindrical portion 26.. TWhen the bralre member is sotwisted, it is not necessary to rely upon the pins 36 in the cam grooves35 for holding the brake member in raised position. Y 1

When the pump is shut down, the shaft stops momentarily. before'turn'ingin a reverse direction. When this momentary stopping occurs, the brakemember 27 by gravity drops into engagement with the stationary plate32.`

When the pump shaft tends to Yrotate Vin a reverse direction, lthat is,in a direction reverse to that indicated by the arrow 38, the spindle 18tends to rotate in a reverse direction. This causes the Lpins 36 to tendto, move toward the upper parts of the cam grooves 35 and into theposition illustratedfin Fig. 2. Since there is a weight imposed on thepump shaft by the pump unit at the lower end of the column pipe, thebrake member 27 will move into pressural engagement with .theupper faceofY thestationary platei'32.

TWhen this engagement is made intense by the weight of the pump shaft,the shaftv 15 is effectively retarded fromv rotating kin a reversedirection. .Further movement tends to raise the pump shaft 15 so thatthepins 36 .could move toward the vvery top portions of the cam grooves35. In order to prevent the pump shaft from being raised too great a gdistance, which would displace the impellers 1n their chambers 1n thepump section and `cause engagement y.between them and. the

walls, we provide a stop member tfwhich is secured to t-he pumpshaft 15,Vpreferably below thehousing 22. This stop member has a radial flangel6fwhich is provided with a lining 47. If the pump shaft is moved upwardas illustrated inFig. 2, the lining t7 of thev stop member 195 willvengage a lower flat face i8 of the housing 2,2 andthus prevent the shaft15 from moving upward farther. The stop member additionally serves as a.brake to assist the brake. member 27.

In Fig. 4: we show an alternative form of the invention. In this'form cfthe invention the cylindrical party 26r of the spindle 18 'is providedwith screw threads 50, and thehub 28 is provided with cooperating screwthreads 51. When the parts of the pump rotate in a forward direction thescrew threads move the brake member 27 upward from engagement with thestationary plate 32; but when the parts stop, gravity will move thisbrake member into engagement with the stationary member, and whenwtheseparts rotate in a reverse direction, the screw threads move the brakemember into braking engagement with the stationary kplate 32.

Itis of particular importance inl a device a o f this character,toprotect the pump mechanism and the motor against injury such as wouldbe occasioned by an abrupt arresting of their reverse rotation. It willbe obvious that if the rotating parts are arrested by a fixed stop or anon-yielding means, the torsional strains upon the `Inechaiiismwvill beso severe as to seriously injure the device, and for this reasonthepresent device is designed to apply a progressive'or graduallyincreasing braking pressure, which increases in proportion to thereverse speed of the rotating parts.

As previously explained, the lower brake member 46, which is lixed tothe shaft, and the upper brake member'27, which is slidable axiallyrelative to the shaft, both cooperate with the fixed housing 22 to applya maximum braking pressure, this maximum braking pressure being appliedin opposed axial directions in relation to the stationary housing. Inprior devices in which an abrupt arresting means produces an outwardradial pressure upon the stationary part, such stationary part is veryliable to become fractured by the great expansive pressure produced,especially in event of an incorrect installation ofthe motor, anincorrect application of the belt between the motor and the pump-headpulley (that is, crossing the belt when it is intended to be straight) areversing of the electric current by accident or without warning to thepump attendant, or by reason of back-lire of an internal combustionengine when such engine is used as the motive power. In the non-reversemechanism providing positive stops the rotating part will be abruptlystopped if the force driving it is insufficient to break any part of thenon-reverse mechanism; on the other hand, the rotating part will not beprevented from rotating in a reverse direction if the force driving itis greater than the non-reverse mechanism can resist, and thenon-reverse mechanism will be broken. In pump head constructionsemploying a positive stop when the motor is driven in the wrongdirection, such as by an improper wiring, it is certain that some partmust break. For this reason it would be inadvisable to make thenon-reverse mechanism exceedingly heavy, since some other more expensivepart might be damaged.

In the device herein disclosed, the brake members exert opposed axialstrains on the stationary housing 22 and as these are compressionstrains tending only to crush the housing, said housing may be ofrelatively light construction which is very economical to manufacture.If the forces turning the rotating part in al reverse direction aregreater than the non-reverse mechanism ot this invention can resist, noparts will be broken but the frictional brake willslide, allowing therotating part to rotate slowly.

``Where the pump is driven in a reverse direction by an electric motor,the braking action will place such an overload on the motor that thethrow-out switch will be thrown out before any damage is done to themotor.

From the foregoing description it willbe seen that our inventionprotects the parts from the damages which may result when the pump isoperated in a reverse direction. The essential parts of our inventionare, lirst, a stationary'part and a rotatable part to which the otherelements of the invention may be applied. The other elements of theinvention are, first, a brake member which is capable of engaging thestationary part, and a means for causing the brake member to pressurallyengage the stationary part when the rotatable part moves in a reversedirection, with the brake arranged to exert a gradually increasing brakepressure so as not to cause an abrupt stopping of the rotatingmechanism. In addition to this, another important element the stopmember which prevents the pump shaft from rising an appreciable distanceand may also serve as an auxiliary brake. It should be clearlyunderstood that any construction which includes the elements justenumerated comes within the scope of this invention.

We claim as our invention: 1. A pump head Yfor a deep-well rotary pumpcomprising: a rotatable part; a stationary part; a brake member carriedby said rotatable part; and means for causing said brake member to applya frictional braking pressure to said stationary part when saidrotatable part tends to rotate in a .reverse direction.

2. A pump head for a deep-well rotar pump comprising: a rotatable part;a s tationary part; a brake member carried by said rotatable part; andmeans for causing said brake member to disengage said stationary partwhen said rotatable part rotates in a forward direction and to apply africtional braking pressure to said stationary part when said rotatablepart tends to rotate in a reverse direction.

3. A pump head for a deep-well rotary pump comprising: a. rotatablepart; a stationary part; a brake member carried by said rotatable part;means for causing said brake member to pressurally engage saidstationary part when said rotatable part tends to rotate in a reversedirection; and auxiliary brake means preventing an appreciable upwardmovement of said rotatable part when said brake member is brought intoengagement with said stationary part.

4. A pump head for 'a deep-well rotary pump comprising: a rotatablepart; a stationary part; abrake member carried by said rotatable part;means for causing said brake member to pressurally engage saidstationary part when said rotatable part tends to "when said rotatable-mtate inarreverse direct-ion; andra stop mem- :ber carriedl bysaidyrotatable part, and adapted-toengage fsaid stationary part when sai-drotatablepart is movedxufpward-by engage.- mentof sadbrale member Withsaid stationary part. Y 1 f 5.- A 'pump yhead `for a deep-Well `rotarypump Comprising; a rotatable parte; astationary part; a brake membercarried by said .rotatable part; means for; causing said brake member todisengage said stationary part `Whenisaid rotatable part rotates in aforward `directionand to `pressurally engage said stationary part Whensaidrotatable part tends .to rota-te in a reverse direct-ion; and a stop,member carried by said' rotatable part, and `adapted to engage saidstationary part When ysaid rotatable part is moved upward by engagementof .said brake member With said stationary part.

6. A pump head for a deep-Well rotar pump comprising:` a rotatable part;a. stationary kpart a'brale member carried by said rotatable part, saidbrake member having a `cam slot; and a pin carried by said rotatablepart, said pin extending into said cam kslot in order to :cause saidbrake member to pressurall-y engage vsaidV stationary part When saidrotatable part tends to rotate in-a reverse direction.

7. AY pump head for a deep-Well rotary pump comprising:y a rotatablepart; a stationary part; a brake member carried by ysaid vrotatablepart, said .brake member having a eamxslotyand a pin carried by saidrotatable part said `pin extending into said cam slot in order to causesaid brake lmember to disengage said stationary part When said rotatablepart rotates in a 'forward direction and to pressurally engage saidstationary part part tends to rotate in a 'reversedirection y f 8. Apump head for a deep-Well rotary ipump comprising: a rotatable part; astationary part; a brake member carried by saidrotatable part, saidbrake member hav- `ing a cam slot; a pin carried by said rotatable part,said pin extending into Ysaid `cam 'slotin orderv to cause said brakemember to engage said stationary part When said rotatable part tends-torotate in a reverse direetion in ysuch a manner as to prevent said shaftfrom'rotating in a vreversek direction; yand av stop member" carriedbysaid rotatable part, and adapted to engage said stationary part Whensaid rotatable part is vmoved vupward by engagement of said brake memberWith said stationary part.

9. A pump head for a .deep-Well rotary pump comprising: `a rotatablepart; a stationary part; a brake member ycarried by ksaid rotatablepart, said brake member having acam slot; a pin carried by saidrotatable vpart, said pin extending into said cam .slot in` order tocause said brake member to disengage said stationary part When saidrotatable part rotates in-,a forward directionandto pressurally engagesaid stationary partWhen saidrotatable parttends to rotate in a reversedirection; and a stop member carried by .said rotatable part, andadapted to engage `said stationary part When said rotatable part ismoved upward by engagement-of said brake member 'WithV said stationarypart.V i y v 10. AVv pump headfor a deep-,Well rotary pump comprising: arotatable part; aostationary part; a brake member (carried by saidrotatable part, said brake member surrounding a portionof saidYrotatable Ipart; balance-Weights carried by said brake member inopposing positions7 and in dierent horizontal planes; and means forcausing said brake member tov pressurally engage said stationary partWhen Ysaid rotatable part tends to rotate ina reverse direction 11. Apump head for .agdeep-vvell rotary pump Comprising: a rotatable part; .astationary part; a brake member lcarried by said rotatable part, saidbrake member-surrounding a portion of said rotatable part; balance-Weights carried by said brake. member in opposing positions, and indifferent horizontal planes; means for causing said brake member topressurallyengage said stationary part when said rotatable part tends torotate in a reverse direction; and a stop `member carried by saidrotatable part, and adapted to engage said stationary part When saidrotatable partismoved upward'by engagement oflsaid' brake member with`said stationary part. n y t i 1 2. A pump head for a deep-Well rotarypump comprising: a rotatable part; a stationary part; a brake membercarried by said rotatable-part, said brakemember surrounding a portionof said rotatable part; balancevveights carried by said brake member inopposing positions, and in diierent horizontal planes, said brake memberhaving ak cam slot; and a pin carried by said rotatable part, said pinextendinginto said cam slot in order to cause said brake member tovpressurally engage said stationary part When said rotatablev parttendsto 'rotate in 'a reverse direction.

13. A pump .head for a-deep-vvell rotary pump comprising: a rotatablepart; a stationary part; means for arresting rotation of said rotatablepart, said means Comprising a brake member, Which is automaticallymaintained inactive When saidrotatable part vis rotated in onedirection, but Which moves intoengagement with -said stationary partwhen said rotatable part stops; and means functioning upon a reverserotation of said rotatable part to cause said brake member tofrictionally engage and gradually arrest said rotatable part. v 1

14. A pump headpfor a deep-Well vrotary pump comprising: a rotatablepart; a stationary part; and means for arresting thel backward rotationof said rotatable part, said means comprising a brake member which isautomatically maintained inactive when said rotatable part is rotatedforwardly, but which automatically moves when the rotatable part isrotated backward, to apply a gradually increasing frictional brakingpressure on said stationary part until said rotatable part stops.

e l5. In a device of the nature disclosed, the combination of: arotatable part; a stationary part; a floating brake member carried bysaid rotatable part; and means for causing said brake member to apply agradually increasing frictional braking pressure to said stationary partwhen said rotatable part rotates in a reverse direction and until 'saidrotatable part is arrested.

16. A combination as defined in claim 15 in which said means is arrangedto assume an inactive position when the rotatable part is again rotatedin a forward direction.

17. In a device of the nature disclosed, the combination of: a rotatablepart; a stationary part; and means carried by said rotatable part andadapted to engage said stationary part to arrest backward rotation ofsaid rotatable part, said means comprising a brake member which isautomatically maintained inactive during forward rotation of saidrotatable part, but which automatically functions upon backward rotationof said rotatable part to first frictionally retard and subsequentlyarrest said rotatable part.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Los Angeles,California, this 18th day of April, 1927.

RONALD M. SCHLEGEL.

ALFRED H. BOWLZER, JR.

